Cigarette pack with pocket clip



IOM'

W. R. SETTLESl CIGARETTE PACK WITH POCKET CLIP Filed March 18, 1960April 9, 1963 UNIL-M2 JNVENTOR.

WILLIAM R. SETTLES BY ww & may

United States Patent 3,084,407 CIGARETTE PACK WITH POCKET CLIP WilliamR. Settles, San Diego, Caiit., assigner of thirty percent to Arthur C.Soderman, San Diego, Calif. Filed li/Iar. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 15,981 1Ciaim. (Cl. 24-3) The present invention relates generally to packagingand more particularly to a cigarette pack with pocket clip.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a cigarette packhaving a pocket engaging clip which holds the pack securely in thepocket and prevents loss when a person is bending or in any situationwhere the pocket is substantially inverted.

Another object 0f this invention is to provide a cigarette pack having apocket clip which is contained within the wrapping and is exposed foruse by the initial opening of the pack, the clip being substantiallyflat and causing no interference with normal packaging of the packs intocartons.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cigarette pack having apocket clip which extends longitudinally from the pack, allowing thepack to be inserted fully into the pocket and supported by the pocketitself, rather than suspended at the pocket opening.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pocket clip which iseasily made from sheet plastic material, or the like, by a simplestamping operation and can be produced at a minimum of cost.

Finly, it is an object to provide a cigarette pack with a pocket clip ofthe aforementioned character which is simple and convenient to use andwhich will give generally eiiicient and durable service.

With these and other objects denitely in view, this invention consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements andportions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification,particularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated in the drawingwhich forms a material part of this disclosure, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of a cigarette pack with the pocketclip attached, the outer wrapping being omitted for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, thecigarette container and outer wrapping being indicated in broken line;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the pocket clip;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation view, partially cut away, showing the packclipped into a pocket; and

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view showing an alternative method ofattaching the clip to a cigarette pack.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar or identical elementsand portionsthrcughout the specication and throughout the views of thedrawing.

The clip 10` is a generally rectangular strip of thin sheet material,such as a plastic having reasonable resiliency, the corners of which arerounded or bevelled, as at 12, to eliminate sharp points. Adjacent thetop of the clip 10 are two laterally spaced, circular openings 14 fromwhich a pair of longitudinal cuts 16 are made, tangentially to theoutside of the openings, to form a clip tongue 18 having a forwardlyturned lower lip 20. The side edges 22 of the clip tongue 16 are turnedbackwardly and the upper ends of said side edges have upwardlyprojecting pocket engaging points 24 formed by ICC the intersection ofthe longitudinal cuts with the openings 14.

Adjacent the lower end of the clip 10 are two laterally spaced, circularopenings 26 having longitudinal cuts 28 extending upwardly therefrom toform an elongated retaining tongue 30. The cuts 28 are connected to andcontinuous with the cuts 16, so that the clip tongue 18 and retainingtongue 30 are in opposed relation in the central portion -of the clip`10` between side members 32.

The clip 10 is attached to the paper casing 34 of a conventional pack ofcigarettes 36, in which the cigarettes are enclosed in a separate innerwrapper 3S, the whole being enclosed in a transparent outer wrapper 40'.Normally the upper portion of the outer wrapper 40 is Vremoved by meansof a tear strip, the structure and operation of which is well known andneed not be described in detail. The clip 10 is inserted on the insideof the casing 34 with the clip tongue 18 extending externally over theupper edge of said casing, said clip being held by a retaining loop orstrap-like band 42 iixed to the inside of said casing by a suitableadhesive. 'Ihe retaining strip 42 passes under the side members 32 andover the retaining tongue 30 and is adjacent the upper end of saidretaining tongue when the clip 10` is fully inserted into casing 34, asin FIGURES l, 2 and 5.

When the outer wrapper 38 is opened, the clip tongue 18 is exposed andthe clip lil` is free to slide upwardly to extend above the cigarettepack, but is held against complete removal by the strap-like band 42over retaining tongue 30. When the cigarette pack 36 is placed in apocket, indicated in section at 44 in FIGURE 6, the clip tongue 1Sextends externally over the upper edge of the pocket, the lip 2i)facilitating the engagement. When the clip tongue 18 is fully extendedover the pocket 44, the points 24 engage the material of the pocket andprevent inadvertent removal until the clip tongue is lifted upwardly andoutwardly to disengage said points. In the pocket, the cigarette pack 36rests on the bottom of the pocket and is supported thereby rather thanbeing suspended from the clip 10, the depth of a normal pocket beinginsuicient to require full extension of the clip.

As an alternative, the clip 10 may be attached to a cigarette pack 46 inthe manner illustrated in FIGURE 7, in which a pair of spaced horizontalslits 48 are made in the pack to separate a small retaining loop orstraplike band 50, through which the retaining tongue 30 is insertedexternally of the pack. Thus the clip 10 is attached to the outside ofthe pack 46 and is enclosed by the outer wrapper 52, the operation anduse of the clip being as described above. This latter arrangement ismore suitable for box type packs having hinged lids, in which internallymounted clips would be impractical.

With either arrangement, the cigarette pack is held securely in thepocket while the user is bending over or engaging in any activity whichmight normally displace the pack. When required, the pack is easilyremoved from the pocket by lifting upwardly and outwardly on the cliptongue 18.

While primarily intended for use with cigarette packs, the clip isadaptable to other pocket carried packages, such as medication, businesscard packs, or check books to mention but a few. In addition, the clipmay be used to hold a package in an interior pocket of a purse, or thelike as well as in a pocket of a garment.

The operation of this invention will be clearly cornprehended from aconsideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical detailsthereof, taken in connection with the drawing and the above recitedobjects. It will be obvious that all said objects are amply achieved bythis invention.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the inventiondisclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scopeof the invention, and that the specification and drawing are to beconsidered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

A package engaging clip comprising an elongated stripl of resilientsheet material having an elongated central recess extendinglongitudinally of the strip;

a pocket edge' engaging clip and a package engaging tongue extendingsubstantially coplanarly Within said recess toward each other from thoseportions of the clip at the ends of said recess;

thefree edges of said clip and tongue being spaced from each other adistance sufficient to permit engagement of the tongue with a strap-likeband of material on said package;

said free edges of the/clip and tongue being spaced closely adjacenteach other so that material caught between the longitudinal edges ofsaid strip and said pocket edge engaging clip Will prevent inadvertentdisengagement of said strap-like band of material from said tongue.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS KleinAug. 27, Krom Dec. 3l, Taylor Feb. 12, Victoi- June 1l, Larner July 2.8,Pence Mar. 8, Rakauskas Dec. 14, Ogden Sept. 18, Hubbard Sept. 9, GobbleOct. 8, Fauteux Ian. 7, Tamarin Feb. 4, Lee Feb. 25,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. l,

1912 191s 1929 1929 1931 1932 1937 1951 1952 19,57 195s 195s 195s

